Book 2 of The Crime Fighting Bluesmen series
The Blurb
Jerry Roberts is found unconscious outside a firebombed church but far from being treated as a victim, he finds himself the prime suspect and charged with the murder of the entire congregation—including his wife and daughter.
Mitty Andersen and Pete Bolden – the crime fighting bluesmen – sense that an innocent man is being railroaded by an overzealous local lawman and set out to find out who’s really behind the recent string of church bombings.
Mitty & Pete soon find themselves in the crosshairs of a secret paramilitary organization known as S.O.S — the Soldiers of Satan.
In a thrilling ride through the length of Texas, Mitty and Pete need to dodge the wrath and bullets of the S.O.S. operatives long enough to stay alive, stop the next bombing, and prove their friend is innocent.
The Opening
Jerry Roberts slammed the door to his pickup and sprinted across the gravel parking lot of the Grapeville First Christian Church. Dang it! Late for church again. Millie is gonna kill me!
He shouldn't have answered the phone this morning and gotten caught up in business. He should have left for Sunday service with his wife and daughter. Millie frowned as he took the call, but said nothing as she picked up her keys, kissed him on the forehead, and walked out to the garage. Sixteen-year-old Jennifer blew him a kiss and followed her mom.
The Review
And so begins the worst day of Jerry Roberts' life. Within a few hours, his wife and daughter have been blown to bits - along with two hundred other attendants of the Grapeville First Christian Church - and he is hauled in as the prime suspect.
But The Devil's Blues is not really about Jerry. It's about his good friends - Mitty Anderson and Pete Bolden aka The Crime Fighting Bluesmen. Retired journalist Mitty and lay preacher Pete, blues officianados both, refuse to accept their friend would kill his own wife and daughter, let alone the entire congregation of his own church.
With the help of a couple of dogged ATF agents, Mitty and Pete seek to clear their friends name as they go up against a fanatically incompetent local lawman and a brilliantly drawn group of Satanic terrorists led by a psychotic mastermind in cowboys and a vicious streak a mile wide intent on bombing Christianity from the face of the earth - well, Texas, anyway.
The vastness of Texas may be the backdrop to the story, but the soundtrack is all blues. From brilliant scenes of Mitty and Pete exchanging harmonica riffs in their own blues band to the plethora of blues legends name-checked throughout the novel. Do yourself a favour. Any blues artist or song mentioned, write them down. Make a playlist. You won't regret it.
Yep. Jerry Roberts should not have answered that phone. But if he didn't, we would not have the immensely enjoyable, blues-soaked yarn that is rollicking tale of The Devil's Blues.
The Devil's Blues hurtles along at breakneck speed leading to a thrilling conclusion deep in the Texas countryside.
And I loved it.
The Devil's Blues by Ricky Bush is available in the all formats direct from the Fahrenheit Press website here:
And my review of the first in The Crime Fighting Bluesmen - River Bottom Blues - can be found here: